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Joe Biden orders declassification of documents about September 11 terror attacks

  • The order requires the US attorney general to make the declassified documents public over the next six months
  • Relatives of the victims have been pushing for years for more information about what the FBI discovered in its probe

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Rescue workers search through the rubble of the World Trade Center in New York in September 2001. File photo: EPA-EFE
US President Joe Biden on Friday ordered the Department of Justice to review documents from the FBI’s probe into the September 11, 2001, attacks for declassification and release.
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“When I ran for president, I made a commitment to ensuring transparency regarding the declassification of documents on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on America,” Biden said in a statement. “As we approach the 20th anniversary of that tragic day, I am honouring that commitment.”

The order requires US Attorney General Merrick Garland to make the declassified documents public over the next six months as it oversees “a declassification review of documents” related to the Federal Bureau of Investigation probe.

Family members of victims of the September 11 attacks asked a US government watchdog on Thursday to investigate their suspicions that the FBI lied about or destroyed evidence linking Saudi Arabia to the hijackers.

The request in a letter to Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz said “circumstances make it likely that one or more FBI officials committed wilful misconduct with intent to destroy or secrete evidence to avoid its disclosure.”

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Saudi Arabia has said it had no role in the hijacked plane attacks.

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